Black skinny jeans, short-short sleeves, and a gnarly set of strings hanging off the end of lead singer Harley Prechtel-Cortez's guitar sum up the appearance of Red Cortez. When they took the stage, half the crowd was sitting on the floor at the Showbox SoDo waiting for something to happen. By the end of their set, it was looking more like a dance party. When they play, they have an indefatigable sense of urgency that says "Get up and listen!" It was a lively, emotional performance, the kind that can only be produced by people who love the music they make and mean what they're saying. And consider yourself warned: If you find yourself in the front row, there will be sweat.
The Henry Clay People were up next. After 4 or 5 little sound check tease jams, they still didn't have the sound quite right. The vocal mics were practically mute and everything else was muddled and over-amped. The band itself performed well, even if they seemed a little sleepy. They take a decidedly laid back approach to stage presence -- baggy pants, flannel shirts, heads down with their hair in their eyes. And, since I've gone there once already, I don't think a single Henry Clay Person broke a sweat during their performance. There was plenty of energy in there somewhere though, as evidenced by a fair amount of head-butting, climbing, and jumping around. The band's love for each other and their music made itself apparent as well. When they started calling their tour buddies up, there were no less than 15 people bouncing about on that little stage, making noise and having good times!
I went for a drink before the main act -- and I'm glad I did, because the sound check went on for days. The Airborne Toxic Event finally appeared with an extended musical intro, leading straight into "Does this mean you're moving on?" Frontman Mikel Jollett reminded the crowd "Don't be shy! You can jump around a little!" before climbing the props behind him to dance in front of the elevated drum set. The band's contagious energy filled the old warehouse quickly, even the most reserved fans were tapping their toes and bobbing their heads. The stage was flanked with two large screens that displayed a variety of imagery throughout the show -- a burning room, lipstick and pantyhose, architecture, abstract lighting... It made for an interesting backdrop, as well as something to climb on and dance!
About thirty minutes in they slowed it down for three or four mostly acoustic songs, which was almost too long for my liking but it was nice to get a break from the volume. And sometime around midnight, we were eased back into rock and roll with the always impelling "Sometime Around Midnight" -- I have to give the band kudos for that timing.
All in all, it was a great show with three strong, energetic bands who have clearly had a fun tour together. The highlight for me was during the encore when all three groups turned the stage into their jungle gym with a raucous performance of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died." Rarely do you get to see people literally swinging from the rafters! They went into another song or two after that, but I chose to leave on a personal high note.
